Le or les

Question

Hallo,

I have a question about a sentence and hope that you can explain me why. The sentence is. Tenemos que cocinarle a los niños. Why is it cocinarle and not cocinarles? I thought cocinarles because a los niños is plural but it seems to be cocinarle and I don't understand why. Can somebody explain me why?

Thanks

Welcome to SpanishDict. That would be "Hola" in Spanish. :) - rac1, Jun 30, 2016

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Answer 1

Inasmuch as "cocinar" means "to cook," To a "leísta" it would sound like you were cooking the kids. It would be better to add a D/O.

Vamos a cocinarles a los niños algo muy bueno. Or better yet, "Vamos a cocinarles algo muy bueno a los niños."

Answer 2

You're right- it should be cocinarle. But Spanish-speaking people do this all the time. I've learned to not be frustrated by it.

Thanks, amigo. :) - rac1, Jun 30, 2016